{"id":25342,"date":"2020-11-18T01:33:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T01:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=25342"},"modified":"2023-04-12T14:10:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T13:10:23","slug":"christmas-presents-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=25342","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Presents I &#8211; Drones"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 693px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-25342-1\" width=\"693\" height=\"403\" loop autoplay preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mavic_mini2.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mavic_mini2.mp4\">https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mavic_mini2.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I just had to get me one of these!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve been fascinated by drones for years, and always had plans to get one. They\u2019re a tad expensive, I admit, but I saw that <a title=\"DJI mini 2 Drone\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dji.com\/uk\/mini-2?gclid=Cj0KCQiAnb79BRDgARIsAOVbhRryrv3UfQBGub0XiTdIerYO3vxc4d7Z7jDxpuljN5BtcCPzgWDCPaUaAvTnEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DJI were just about to release the Mini 2<\/a>, and I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to get in on the ground floor. So I ordered the Fly More Combo pack through Amazon, and it came next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mini 2 weighs just under 250g. When you fold out the four propeller arms and remove the gimbal (camera) cover, you\u2019re ready to take off. Well, you are once you\u2019ve set everything else up &#8211; which isn\u2019t difficult at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The kit comes with a remote control unit, and you need a smartphone to use it. You have to <a title=\"DJI Fly app\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dji.com\/uk\/dji-fly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">download the DJI Fly app and run through the setup process<\/a>, which only takes a few minutes, but then you\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wanted to be within the Law, so I went to the <a title=\"Flying drones and model aircraft\" href=\"https:\/\/register-drones.caa.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) website and passed the necessary test<\/a> to become an approved drone pilot (it\u2019s free). That gave me my pilot\/flyer number, which I\u2019ve stuck on the side of my drone. It\u2019s valid for three years. Technically, I didn\u2019t need to do this for the Mini 2 as it weighs less than 250g &#8211; but only just, so I thought I may as well in case I upgrade at any point (in any case, the sticker I put on it with my flyer ID has probably taken it to 250-251g).&nbsp; It only took about 15 minutes of revision to pick up some of the numbers about how close to people and buildings you should be, and that was that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mini 2 records at up to 4K video, so it is broadcast quality. You can alter the video quality down to HD, and change the frame rate, but 4K can record at up to 30fps. In HD, it goes up to 60fps. It doesn\u2019t record automatically the moment you turn it on, and you select the function through the app as you\u2019re controlling the drone. This is a sample of what I recorded recently, showing the three levels of zoom available at 4K.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"width: 693px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-25342-2\" width=\"693\" height=\"403\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mini2_zoom.mp4?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mini2_zoom.mp4\">https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mini2_zoom.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is an example of a slow pan at around 80m altitude.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"width: 693px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-25342-3\" width=\"693\" height=\"403\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mini2_pan.mp4?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mini2_pan.mp4\">https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mini2_pan.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, I was terrified of how well I&#8217;d be able to control it, so I made sure I was in a big field with nothing I might hit anywhere near me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fly Combo kit comes with three batteries, and each will give about 30 minutes of flying time. You also get a spare set of propellers (4 x 2) and screwdriver to replace them with. A spare set of propellers (if you needed one) <a title=\"DJI Store\" href=\"https:\/\/store.dji.com\/uk?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhs79BRD0ARIsAC6XpaVTOa4kB49ACA8B14sdoLHX36NFFawrqK0fj2WaNsKTy-biDrI5oX4aApCmEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">currently costs \u00a311 from DJI, so no big problem<\/a>. The thing is, they are very fragile, and if you were to let them hit anything then they could easily shatter. I think they\u2019re made from carbon fibre, but they are very light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Control is smooth and easy. You\u2019re not going to fly into things unless you\u2019re a total klutz. You can buy propeller protectors if you\u2019re worried, anyway. When hovering, it is rock-steady up to Beaufort Scale 5 (fresh breeze). You can also get a 1-2 year accidental damage warranty, which is offered when you sign up to the app during registration &#8211; and I recommend doing it, just in case. It isn\u2019t expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mini 2 has a range of 4km (4,000m), but you should never let a drone out of your sight, and in the UK you\u2019re limited to 120m (400 feet) altitude and how close you can get to people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re buying someone a Christmas present &#8211; and if you\u2019re going to splurge, as opposed to buying them socks or deodorant &#8211; this is the way to go! It is brilliant fun, with the bonus of superb quality video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I say, these samples were taken in a field not <strong>too<\/strong> close to buildings when I was out testing it just after I got it. It\u2019s a great experience flying it around, seeing it ascend and descend, and race around a large open space. But it is also good for stable stuff &#8211; checking the pointing on chimney stacks, for example. Once we\u2019re out of COVID, I\u2019ve got lots of plans for where I want to fly it.\n\n\n\n<p>I should point out that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dji.com\/uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"DJI website\">DJI drones are probably the best you can get<\/a> (certainly one of the best), but there is a plethora of cheaper drones that are ideal for kids or those on a smaller budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-4532794719633406\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I just had to get me one of these! I\u2019ve been fascinated by drones for years, and always had plans to get one. They\u2019re a tad expensive, I admit, but I saw that DJI were just about to release the Mini 2, and I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to get in on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computer-tech-related"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}